Rome's Imperial Economy

Twelve Essays

W. V. Harris

An eminent scholar's conclusions on some of the hotly debated issues concerning the Roman economy

Addresses economic historians and archaeologists as well people interested in Roman history

Considers the whole population of the Roman Empire, rather than paying exclusive attention to the capital

Rome's Imperial Economy

Twelve Essays

W. V. Harris

Description

Imperial Rome has a name for wealth and luxury, but was the economy of the Roman Empire as a whole a success, by the standards of pre-modern economies? In this volume W. V. Harris brings together eleven previously published papers on this much-argued subject, with additional comments to bring them up to date. A new study of poverty and destitution provides a fresh perspective on the question of the Roman Empire's economic performance, and a substantial introduction ties the collection together. Harris tackles difficult but essential questions, such as how slavery worked, what role the state played, whether the Romans had a sophisticated monetary system, what it was like to be poor, whether they achieved sustained economic growth. He shows that in spite of notably sophisticated economic institutions and the spectacular wealth of a few, the Roman economy remained incorrigibly pre-modern and left a definite segment of the population high and dry.

Rome's Imperial Economy

Twelve Essays

W. V. Harris

Table of Contents

Introduction1. On the Applicability of the Concept of Class in Roman History2. Poverty and Destitution in the Roman Empire3. Towards a Study of the Roman Slave Trade4. Geography, Demography and the Sources of Roman Slaves5. Roman Terracotta Lamps: The Organization of an Industry6. Production, Distribution, and instrumentum domesticumIV. Trade 7. Trade (70-192 AD)8. Trade and the River Po: A Problem in the Economic History of the Roman Empire9. Roman Governments and Commerce, 300 BC-AD 30010. A Revisionist View of Roman Money11. The Roman Economy in the Late Republic, 133 to 31 BC12. Between Archaic and Modern: Some Current Problems in the Economic History of the High Roman Empire

Rome's Imperial Economy

Twelve Essays

W. V. Harris

Author Information

W. V. Harris is Shepherd Professor of History and Director of the Center for the Ancient Mediterranean, Columbia University.

Rome's Imperial Economy

Twelve Essays

W. V. Harris

Reviews and Awards

"What this book shows more than the individual articles do is that one of the great strengths of Harris lies in his style of writing: Harris consistently frames his discussion within the wider academic debate: he is not one of those scholars who will hide himself behind an authoritative air of objectivity, but continuously refers to his own personal role in the construction of his ideas. This is a form of intellectual honesty (and modesty) that greatly enhances the accessibility of Harris' texts, and that could serve as an example for many."--Bryn Mawr Classical Review